It is common for a variety of goods and products to be stocked, often in quantity, for sale by merchants on shelves, racks, cases, bins, etc. for inspection and selection by consumers. The display of pricing information at the location of each particular product, i. e. at the point of sale, is ordinarily necessary as price tends to be a major factor in product choice. Moreover, certain products are often promoted or emphasized for sale at certain times by means of advertisement and/or price reduction and the display to the potential purchaser of the desired advertising information or reduction in price can be critical to the success of such promotion.
While small pricing tickets or tags can be attached, e. g. clipped, as is the usual practice, to an edge of the shelf or rack in proximity to each group of products, the amount of information that can be provided on tickets or tags is quite limited, being usually restricted to identity and price alone, making the exhibition of appealing advertising material to entice an undecided customer almost out of the question. In any event, this kind of display lacks the distinctive character required for significant impact on the perception of a prospective purchaser in that it does not differentiate from regular pricing tickets or stand out from the remainder of the merchandize in the area.
According to the invention of my earlier patent identified above, a display placard in sheet form was held within a open frame constituted of four rectilinear frame members connected together at adjacent ends into a rectangle. Three of the four frame members were formed with channels opening toward the frame interior for receiving margins of the placard along three of its sides with the fourth member having a lengthwise slot passing therethrough in coplanar relation to the channels of the other members for introduction of the advertising placard into the frame. At least one nip-like protuberance projected from an interior wall of the slot for engagement with the corresponding margin, or the edge thereof, of the placard to insure its retention within the frame.
The assembly of my prior patent represented a considerable improvement over similar prior art support frames for advertising matter as explained in the background section of the patent disclosure. It was, however, inherently subject to certain limitations. First, the size of the advertising placard that could be accommodated by a frame of a given dimensions was essentially restricted to the size of the frame. Hence, in order to display advertising matter in different size formats, it was necessary to have available frames corresponding to each of the different formats. In as much as the merchandize offered for sale at the most retail establishments is typically large in volume and varied in nature, it was necessary for the establishment to maintain a relatively large inventory of frames.
Also, a certain minimum thickness tended to be required for the advertising placard to permit the same to be inserted readily into and held effectively by the frame. Thus, the placard had to be printed on cardboard, paperboard or the similar relatively stiff stock rather than on the more flimsy (but less expensive) letter or newsprint weight paper. Likewise, the shape of the placard was restricted to a rectangular shape thereby limiting the creative expression of the advertising medium.
In addition, while the patented frame possessed a neat, simple appearance and could be made reasonably attractive by appropriate contouring of the cross-section of its members, its appearance was stereotypical of sign holders and lacked variety and freshness of visual impression.